United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Stock: Insider George Milligan Purchases 5,000 Shares

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) Director George Milligan acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $47.41 per share, for a total transaction of $237,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 95,034 shares in the company, valued at $4,505,561.94. The trade was a 5.55% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

Shares of UFCS stock traded up $1.14 during trading on Monday, reaching $48.87. The company had a trading volume of 245,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,879. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.97. United Fire Group, Inc has a one year low of $33.53 and a one year high of $58.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.34 and a beta of 0.55.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $391.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $384.18 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 9.06%. Sell-side analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research raised shares of United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of United Fire Group from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of United Fire Group from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Fire Group has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Institutional Trading of United Fire Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $66,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $69,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in United Fire Group by 25.1% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in United Fire Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $73,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

About United Fire Group

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ: UFCS) is an insurance holding company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Through its insurance subsidiaries, the company provides property and casualty insurance products to businesses, individuals, and organizations, primarily through a network of independent insurance agents.

Its product portfolio includes commercial property and liability coverage, commercial automobile insurance, workers’ compensation, surety bonds, and specialty insurance products.